Packer Frustrated by Barangaroo Planning Delays

James Packer has expressed his frustration over the many delays in the approval process for Crown Resorts‘ Barangaroo Casino proposal. The company has increased its lobbying of the NSW government as the Land Lease application for the development has been held up in a legal dispute.

Crown was awarded approval from the government to operate the VIP-only casino in Barangaroo from November 2019. In July, it lodged its application with the planning department for a 270 metre hotel and casino tower. The department requested additional information from Crown to address concerns over encroachment on public land, impact on heritage sites and management of increased traffic.

A legal dispute has also delayed the application, as has the quantity of the responses required by the government-appointed Design Advisory Panel. It is not until this process has been completed that the department of planning will be able to submit its recommendations to the independent Planning Assessment Commission.

According to a spokeswoman for the department of planning, they are “yet to receive a formal response from Lend Lease to the independent Barangaroo design advisory panel’s report.” Mr Packer has expressed his frustration over the delays.

“It’s been a marathon process to get where we are in Sydney; we proposed the hotel almost four years ago and we are miles behind our opening date schedule,” Packer stated. “At our end we really want to get moving.”

Crown is planning their luxury hotel and casino venue for Barangaroo South. It will include multi-million dollar residential apartments, a luxury hotel, a gaming floor and retail areas. The casino will cover 6,805 square metres of the 77,500 square metres the venue will cover in total.